Looking In
by spiritlight25
Summary: Danny's unsure about taking part in the Spring Festival, and it's been bothering a certain ghost boy to no end. With the festival in only a couple weeks away, can Phantom finally persuade the teen to finally go for it?


Here's a new one-shot. This time with a little bonding between Danny and his ghost half. This takes place before the final episode, I just didn't specify when. Don't worry, this isn't as long as my other one-shots. Let me know how you guys like it. Enjoy!

I don't own Danny Phantom. Butch Hartman does.

I don't own the song _Outside Looking In. _Nick Lachey does.

* * *

Looking In

Danny sighed as he stared at the piece of paper in his hands. It was an announcement for the upcoming singing competition at the Annual Spring Festival. Every year, the whole town would hold the contest at the park, just for fun. Some would take part while others would simply watch the performers up on stage singing or doing whatever act they chose.

He had known about the contest for the past few days, yet he hadn't signed himself up. He wasn't sure on whether he should participate or not. He never really sang in public _or _in private; he'd hum a simple little tune when he flew around town in his ghost form.

Speaking of him, Phantom was off fighting a ghost as usual. He knew what was going on through the boy's mind and had told him to sign up, but to no avail. Whenever Danny had the perfect opportunity to go for it, he would chicken out at last minute, too shy to simply write his name on the sign-up sheet.

Even his friends and family encouraged him to try it. He refused, saying that he needed some more time to think it over. Phantom, on the other hand, could sense that he wasn't being completely honest. He knew something was up, but he just didn't know what exactly.

Danny resumed staring at the announcement sheet and let out another sigh. '_Maybe I __**should**__ give it a try_,' he thought. '_It could be fun.'_ A smile painted itself on the teen's face, and then repainted itself back into an unsure frown.

'_Then again… I never really sang in front anyone. Not even my own family. Oh, whatever. I'll think about it some more.'_

He put down the paper on the bed and left for school.

* * *

"There. That's all the ghosts," Phantom said as he flew with a full thermos at hand. "I can finally get some rest."

He intangibly flew through the wall to Danny's bedroom and saw something on the pillow.

"What's this?" He picked it up and an annoyed sigh escaped from his lips. It was the Spring Festival announcement sheet. '_He __**still**__ hasn't signed up? Man, Danny. There are times when I __**don't **__know what's going on in your head, and that's saying something.' _He set the paper down where he found it and flew down to Casper High.

Once he arrived, he glanced around the hallway to check if no one was near. Realizing that the coast was clear, Phantom flew down the empty halls of the school.

As the young ghost flew, something caught his eye. He stopped to get a better look. It was a sheet of paper that read:

**Amity Park's 25****th**** Annual Spring Festival **

**Saturday April 26**

**Come on down for delicious food and watch all your friends perform on stage.**

**Or, if you want, you can participate yourself.**

**Just sign below if want to take part in this annual event.**

Phantom read the sheet once more and a mischievous smile painted his pale features. '_If only I had a pen or a pencil…'_

He looked down and saw a pencil just sitting there on the floor. '_Well, that's convenient.' _

The ghost boy picked up the writing utensil and without any hesitation, he wrote down only one name: Danny Fenton.

* * *

School had finally let out hours later and Danny had been relishing the next few moments he had before reaching home. He didn't have a lot of homework today and he was able sneak away from another one of Dash's bullying appointments, thanks to Sam and Tucker.

'_The only thing that would've made today even better was if I had the guts to sign up for the festival,' _he thought as he was now at his house.

Danny opened the door and was surprised to see his sister and his two best friends in the living room.

"Tucker? Sam? How'd you guys get here?"

"Jazz picked us up," Sam answered.

The redheaded girl stood up and walked over to her younger brother, a huge smile on her face. "So, you decided you were gonna go for it after all."

That earned a confused look from the youngest Fenton. "Go for what?" he asked.

"The Spring Festival. So, what are you doing for it?"

"Uh, Jazz, I think there's been a mix-up."

"What do you mean, Danny?" asked Sam.

"I mean that I didn't sign up." Everyone else looked at each other in absolute confusion then turned their gazes back to the teenager in front of them.

For the next few moments, they were engulfed into an awkward silence. Only one question resided in everyone's minds: If Danny didn't sign up for the festival, then who wrote his name on the sheet?

"Are you sure that it wasn't you?" questioned Tuck.

"Of course it wasn't me," Danny said. He was just as confused as the others.

Tucker walked to the confused Danny and handed him a piece of paper. "What's this?"

"You might wanna take a look at this."

The crystal-eyed boy did as his friend suggested and glanced at the sheet. It was the same sheet that Phantom saw at school. On that festival announcement/sign-up sheet were a few names already written down.

Paulina Sanchez…

Dash Baxter…

Sam Manson…

Tucker Foley…

Danny Fenton… Wait a minute!

Light-blue orbs widened as they stared at that last name in shock. It was true; someone had added his name to the list. The only thing left to do was to find out who did it.

Danny started to walk upstairs, his eyes still glued to the paper in his hands.

"Danny, where are you going?" asked Jazz.

He didn't answer her for he was already in his room.

"That could've gone better," Tuck chirped. The two girls just glared at him.

* * *

Danny stared at the paper in total disbelief. Who in their right mind would sign him up for him? He thought it was just a practical joke, but he would've found out a whole lot sooner if it was.

So then, who the heck wrote his name on the sign-up sheet? And why him of all people?

Just then, a sudden chill in the room snapped the teen out of his thoughts. He looked from the paper to see his ghostly self fly through the window.

"Hey, Danny," Phantom greeted.

"Hi. Phantom, you're not gonna believe this, but someone signed me up for the Spring Festival."

The ghost nodded in response. "I know. That was me."

"If I could just figure out who did this…" Danny thought aloud to himself. He clearly didn't catch what his counterpart had just said.

"Um, hello? I said I did it." Again, he was ignored. "Danny?"

"But who would even _try_ to do that?"

"Danny, didn't you hear me?" Phantom was starting to get annoyed.

The boy stared at the paper once more, clearly deep in thought. Phantom's annoyance level reached its peak as he snatched the flyer from Danny's hands.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?"

'_Why do you have to be so stinking clueless?' _"You weren't even listening when I told you that it was me who wrote your name on that list!"

Danny's eyes widened as soon as he heard that. "You did WHAT?!"

Phantom winced at the sudden outburst. '_Maybe I should've given it to him gently.'_

"Look, I'm sorry, Danny, but it seemed like the only way to- "

"To what?" the teen interrupted. "Humiliate me?"

The ghost boy raised both of his hands, palms facing outward, in defense. "No, no, no. I was thinking that you needed the extra confidence boost is all."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I can't sing to save my own life!" Danny turned and was about to leave the room when Phantom flew in between his human half and the door.

"You're not going anywhere until we can sort this out," he said calmly.

"Oh, yes I am!"

"No, you're not!" Phantom shoved Danny back into the bedroom and firmly closed the door. He heard his counterpart let out a defeated sigh.

"Fine. You win," he said as he took a seat on the bed.

"Danny, I understand that you're mad at me, but come on. We all know you wanted to do this."

"Was it that obvious?" Danny lifted his gaze to meet Phantom's.

"Duh!" The ghost rolled his eyes. "Whenever any one of us talked about the festival, you'd change the subject..." he snapped his fingers, "... Just like that."

"Okay, so I _do _wanna participate, but there's no way I'm gonna be able to sing in front of an audience. I don't even sing to _myself_; all I do is just hum."

The teen looked at the announcement paper as his spectral side contemplated on what he had said. At that moment, a smirk adorned his pale complexion, accompanied by a soft chuckle.

"What's so funny?" asked the freshman.

"You're saying that you can only hum a simple little tune, huh?" Danny nodded. "Well, if you can turn that hum into words of a song that you know, you'll be singing in no time."

All Danny could do was stare blankly as Phantom walked over to a corner. Resting in that corner was a bright red guitar. The sprit picked it up and turned around to see a blush make its way onto Danny's face.

Phantom couldn't help but suppress a laugh. "You get any redder and you could possibly turn to the same shade as this thing," he said as he handed over the instrument.

"Ha, ha. Very funny," responded the boy dryly. He looked at the guitar then at his other half, unsure if he should go through with this.

"Uh, Phantom? I- I don't know about this."

"Don't worry. I closed the door so I doubt that anyone will be able to hear you or anything else coming from this room."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," the specter replied while patting the teen's back in support. "Now, I'm the only one in here, so you can think of me as a really tiny audience. Or, you can pretend that you're in your own personal bubble, whatever makes you feel comfortable."

"Phantom, by any chance, have you been hanging around Jazz again?"

The ghost's eyes shifted from one area of the bedroom to the other as he responded, "Uh… that depends… Why? Is her psychology stuff starting to rub off?"

Danny shrugged. "Not sure, exactly. All I'm saying is that you could eventually be like her fraternal twin on a mind set at this rate."

Phantom couldn't resist smiling at that, either. Whenever he had a problem, or if he needed to just chat with someone, Jazz was one of those people he'd go to. Their conversation would last up to a couple hours depending on the subject and situation. He would even read one of her psychology books while waiting for her or Danny to get home from school.

The young specter let out a small chuckle at the thought. '_Danny, you don't know how right you are,' _he thought. He then turned his gaze over to the boy in front of him and gestured him go for it.

"Remember: I'm the only one here," he said as he seated himself on the carpeted floor. "You can do this."

"Right. I can do this," Danny repeated his counterpart as he firmly positioned the guitar in his hands.

'_I think.'_

He thought of the first song that came to mind, letting the instrument do the humming for him on the song's introduction. Phantom listened to the music until the sound of Danny's voice entered his ears.

_Paper houses and _

_Fallen angels_

_Sometimes you can't see in front of you_

It sounded a little soft at first. Still feeling uneasy, Danny looked at Phantom who gestured for him to keep going. Nodding his head in response, the teen continued.

_Wasting moments trying_

_To be someone I_

_Never wanted to be but you_

_But I feel my world_

_Coming back to life_

_My eyes are finally open again_

_Now I see it all _

_In a different light_

_Standing on the outside_

_I'm finally on the outside_

_Looking In_

'_And he says he can't sing,'_ Phantom thought as continued to listen in satisfaction and support.

_Reaching out into_

_Unknown spaces with_

_Nothing left here to blur the view_

_And now I know I've got to find_

_This picture frozen in my mind_

_Of a life I never knew_

The spirit cocked an eyebrow in confusion. _'I wonder where he learned that song. I'll ask him later.'_

_But I feel my world_

_Coming back to life_

_My eyes are finally open again_

_Now I see it all_

_In a different light_

_Standing on the outside_

_I'm finally in the outside_

_I'm tearin' out the page_

_Breathing for a change_

_And it's so good_

Phantom looked up at his twin-like human half and smiled. Danny's sky-blue eyes were shining in content and the fact that his voice grew with more confidence on each note was no doubt. He could tell that the boy was really enjoying himself.

_To feel myself_

_Coming back to life_

_I'm finally on the outside_

_I'm finally on the outside_

_And I feel my world _

_Coming back to life_

_My eyes are finally open again_

_And now I see it all _

_In a different light _

_Standing on the outside_

_I'm finally on the outside_

_Looking In_

Danny closed his eyes as he strummed the last chord. They suddenly snapped open when he heard clapping.

"And you say that you can't sing," Phantom replied as he applauded.

Danny could only blush as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"So, Danny," the ghost boy began as he stood up. "Do you wanna go for the Spring Festival now?" he asked as he sat next to his other half.

The raven-haired teen placed a finger on his chin in thought. "Now that I think about it, I guess I could give it a shot."

'_Finally,' _the spirit thought."By the way, where'd you here that song?'

"Just last week on the computer, actually. I was bored, so I just looked up stuff on the Internet and found this song." A smile appeared on Danny's face as he strummed a few random chords on the guitar. "Oh, and, Phantom?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No problem," Phantom replied as he playfully ruffled the boy's hair.

"Hey!" shouted Danny in a playful protest.

* * *

What Danny and Phantom didn't know was that someone had been listening to the whole thing.

"It's about time you participated in the show, dude," Tucker said softly as he eavesdropped with the aid of a glass to his ear.

End.

* * *

Yeah, I wasn't sure how to end this, so there. Remember to review. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go finish my other stories.


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